Temperatures may have cooled in the stare-down between the United States and Russia over the fate of Ukraine.
At issue is whether the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are willing to promise that Ukraine – once a part of the Russian-dominated Soviet Union – would not be allowed to join NATO, which was created in 1949 to curb Russian expansionism.
To put pressure on the Western allies, Putin has moved nearly 100,000 troops along its border with Ukraine. Biden has replied that any invasion there would bring severe economic sanctions and penalties.
Depression tied to COVID misinformation
A study published Friday claimed that people suffering from depression were twice as likely to believe in false statements or theories about vaccination against COVID-19.
United Press International is reporting that the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s Network Open website showed that in a survey of 15,000 adults with “major depressive disorder” such people were more than twice as likely to accept as truth misinformation about the pandemic.
They were also 60 percent less likely to be vaccinated than the general population.
Also in the news …
- Meat Loaf, a plus-size rocker famous for his operatic songs and role in the cult film “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” has died at the age of 74.
Sports: Rams take on Brady and Bucs
In their quest to make it to a “home game” in the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium, the Los Angeles Rams (12-5) will take on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13-4) Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in the NFC Divisional Round. The game will be telecast on NBC at noon Pacific time.
Oddmakers have the Bucs as a 2.5-point favorite. Back in September, the Rams defeated Tampa Bay 34-24 at SoFi. More recently, the blue-and-gold have won four straight games, after dropping two straight.
Other NFL playoff games this weekend:
- San Francisco 49ers (10-7) at Green Bay Packers (13-4), Saturday at 5:15 p.m. on Fox.
- Cincinnati Bengals (10-7) at Tennessee Titans (12-5), Saturday at 1:30 p.m. on CBS.
- Buffalo Bills (11-6) at Kansas City Chiefs (12-5), Sunday at 3:30 p.m. on CBS.
Weather: Sunny, sunny, sunny …
Some clouds will begin moving in on Thursday, Jan. 27 along with a high of 78.
Business/Finance: Stocks take a tumble
Worried about possible interest rate increases and unimpressive earnings reports, the stock markets took a dive on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 449.89 points to 34,265.50. The S&P 500 fell 1.9 percent to 4,397.73 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.72 percent to 13,768.92.
